sctmom

acco40, that just might work. He seems to be more of a teenager every day!

Thanks OGE

You should have seen him last week at the District Scout Show for 6 HOURS! He did rope climbing, was upset they wouldn't let him go further. Oh, that's my son, the one who would not go up the YMCA climbing tower when I suggested it. Let him think it was HIS idea and he's there.

I'm pushing him to visit the nearby troop that is making some changes. It's that or start our own.

My son hasn't been active in the troop over the past 6 months. He did go to summer camp and got signed off on his knot tying requriements. If I asked him to tie a specific knot he would just give me a blank look.

My living room is a state of chaos being remodeled. I'm at home cleaning today, see a rope I use for teaching cubs to tie knots laying on the floor. Go to pick it up, it is tied to the couch leg in a PERFECT double half hitch! ROFL

Give a boy a rope and he'll have fun for hours!

Sparkie,

The new Webelos badge is a large Oval to be worn alone, not with diamond shaped badges such as the Bobcat. So, the Bobcat has to be removed first.

In Boy Scouts they should be removing each badge when they earn a new one. Not a big deal.

Acco40, I think you got it right. Sew it on and later remove it.

I thought the "old" diamond badge was still available. The brown uniform for Webelos is still only an "option" not a required uniform. If your local council doesn't have the diamond badges, then check with a neighboring council.

Also, your Webelos are still a den, not a patrol (that's a whole nother thread) even if they have a den name and emblem.

So white shoes aren't even okay between Easter and Labor day?

Wow, this fashion stuff confuses me.

Warner Robins is technically "Middle Georgia" but it is a good 3 or 4 hours up to the mountains in North Georgia to some of the well known areas such as Nantahala.

Laura, Come to Georgia, the rivers here NEVER ice over. { smile }

There are LOTS of swamps around Middle Georgia -- watch out for snakes.

How many adults (parents and leaders) have you heard say "Son, you need to get your Eagle because it looks good on your college resume"?

Personally, I've heard it a lot in my limited Scout experience.

Check out www.thunderbsa.org

That is the Flint River Council which is not too far from you. The Scout Camp is on the Flint River. They have some canoeing programs.

And a side note--- for the best barbeque go to PoMo's on Watson Blvd near Houston Lake Road. Order the shredded pork with brunswick stew and fried corn. Yummy!

I used to live in Warner Robins, nice town.

A few years ago at a Cub Scout campout near here, a man and his son died from having a heater in the tent because of the lack of oxygen.

Please go back up and read what Twocubdad quoted from the Cub Scout Leader Handbook. Maybe it used to be different, but not now. There is ONE adult leader meeting which includes committee members, cubmaster, and den leaders.

Sctldr, yep, we all asked what company had after hours events these days and who the heck is stupid enough to get drunk at a party.

The exact wording may have not been "not funny". Sorry I don't remember exactly how they put it.

It means what book they are working out of. Typically (unless you have a LDS pack), First graders are Tigers, Second graders are Wolves, Third graders are Bears, Fourth and Fifth Graders are Webelos, regardless of who has earned their current rank.

Once they earn a rank, they do not automatically move up to working on the next rank. So if a 2nd grader earns his Wolf badg in November, he is still a Wolf until end of second grade. The 2nd grader who has not earned his Wolf, is still considered a Wolf.

My problem is that anyone is being asked to compromise their religious beliefs. If they tell you to not attend a service that you feel is important what else will they ask? For you lie, cheat and steal?

So what if a person is not able to work late for a month? If someone is consistently working late then there is a problem -- perhaps he has more work than one person can do.

Scenario 1 and 2 had some discussion about should you say something right then and there or pull them aside. A lot of people felt like it depended on the severity of the joke. It was assumed the joke was extremely offensive. If you stand there and say nothing are you condoning that type of behavior?

Scenario 3: the correct answer was for the employee to try to prepare someone to take his place.

THEN the "facilitator" said "everyone needs to realize that sometimes we have to make sacrifices for the good of the company and Joe may just have to work".

YIKES! I spoke up and asked for clarification. Was told that yes sometimes Christians have to work on Sunday and even on Christmas. So we will ask people to compromise their religious beliefs for "the good of the company"?

Now you need to realize we provide computer resources for back office activities of a major corporation. We do NOT support the service the company sells, we do NOT save lives. We aren't talking about "borderline" or "questionable" religions either.

I am very upset by this type of big business attitude and how many people said "oh well". Even though I do not belong to a religion that strictly forbids work on certain days, I feel that asking others to compromise their religious beliefs and values is terribly wrong. Is this happening everywhere? Is this part of the problem with our country and world?

Oh, at the same time the company is letting people go and sending work overseas because it is cheaper. Buy American? Maybe you think you do but where is the corporation back office day to day work being done? This is a trend now in computers to send the work overseas and pay people $10,000 per year. No it's not child labor and I understand business but how many companies are doing this and then touting "we are American".

Sorry, let me step down off my soapbox.

Are there certain times they misbehave more than others?

What is your room layout? Is everyone circled around a table or lined up like school?

I saw a couple of den leaders that would sit behind a table and the boys sat in rows of chairs. TOO much like school! I heard that during the Bear year these leaders had the boys holding their books during the whole meeting. The parent who checked books could not do that very well because "the boys need their books right now". My Bears very seldom need the book during the meeting. Webelos do need their books at times but not all the time.

I try to be on the boy's level -- sitting in a circle with them or on the floor with them. Some boys do better working on crafts by standing.

Can you include these boys as "helpers" during the meeting?

Had to attend Diversity training at work yesterday. Wasnt as bad as I expected. A few of the discussions made me think of discussions on here and about the Scout Oath and Law. One in particular has me very upset with the company I work for but I will tell you later which one.

Scenario 1:

You are at a company sponsored after-hours event. Many people are drinking alcohol. The hour gets late. One person with a few too many drinks tells a racially offensive joke that makes everyone uncomfortable. What do you do?

A) Discreetly pull her/him aside and tell them it is time to go home.

B) Immediately point out the joke is not funny and is inappropriate.

C) Ignore it.

Scenario 2:

Same as above EXCEPT the person who told the joke is an executive in the company.

Scenario 3:

An executive calls a meeting for 4:00 on Friday afternoon. He insists that Joe must attend the meeting because Joe has more knowledge about the project than anyone else. Joe is Jewish and Friday is a Jewish Holiday that Joe has been planning on observing (as he always does). Joe goes to his manager about this. The executive insists the meeting time can not be changed.

What should happen?

A) Joe gets someone else up to speed on the project to attend in his place and the managers are understanding of his situation.

B) Joe keeps quiet and attends the meeting.

C) The managers refuse to let Joe have anyone attend in his place. Joe doesnt attend the meeting and gets a bad note on his annual review.

Comments? Discussion? Have you ever experienced any of these?

At Cub Scout pow-wow last fall I took a class about knots. The man teaching it has worked with Boy Scouts for a number of years. He had some great tips.

He said buy some of that bright colorful rope at Home Depot or Lowe's. Carry it around with you and just sit and practice knots before meetings and at campouts. Pretty soon the boys will be coming up to you asking how you do that.

He also would challenge the boys. Anyone who could tie the basic knots, one right after another, faster than he could, won his rope! He said this was a inexpensive investment that paid off big. He was good and didn't just "let" them win, they really had to work at it.

Or have a ongoing knot champion contest. Maybe a board at that is displayed at the Scout meeting with the current champions name.

Boysofmine,

I think what you are doing is great. Cub Scouting is about family. You are putting the children first and that is important. Sounds like the families are blessed to have you as the Tiger leader.

Keep up the good work.

Cabin camping is not something that is really done much around here, so I don't know how troops handle it.

Speaking as a woman, I think a separate room or cabin is not asking too much. I can be very discreet and have no problem sharing a room with my son. Yet, I do not want to share a room with other young boys even if it is just to sleep.

I think this is a good rule. It avoids any possible problems of even innocent things like a young boy seeing what is inside a woman's overnight bag.

Comment about the adults pushing for Eagle and adults who have youth scouting experience-- in my limited experience, many of those adults pushing for their son to be Eagle are the adults who WERE in scouting and didn't make Eagle.

Our society does base so much on being best, earning all, getting all. Watch TV commercials, it's about "having it all".

I read a book a couple of years ago that said the men think of the only success being if you make it to the top. Now, I know some women also think this but it happens more in men. Maybe society, maybe a difference in our brains. Just trying and doing your best isn't good enough, you must be THE BEST! You must WIN!!!

I went through the online course yesterday. Was just as informative as in person during Basic Training.

Just because someone is physically in front of you does not guarentee they learned any better. I don't think anyone is wanting this online so that we can avoid dealing with people but it is there to make sure the word gets out to more people.

First Aid and Lifesaving training usually involve some hands on activity. YP doesn't involved hands on activity (no puns intended).

About the two-deep leadership issue and not wanting those 2 adults left alone with the kids. Just don't let it happen. I know that when I was a kid my parents managed to keep me out of potential harm many times. There are ways to do it without being mean. Make sure there is always another adult with them to "help out".

In our pack we have few situations where there are only 2 adults around.